Bathtub seats for the handicapped or for persons with disabilities, such as severe arthritis, in general comprise a framework upon which a chair or seat structure having a back is fixed.
Severely handicapped persons, such as, for example, paraplegics, are at risk in using such bathtub seats inasmuch as, more often than not, such a person has no feeling in his limbs or extremities and thus cannot tell when he is properly seated. In addition, persons with balance problems should be supported laterally by the bathtub seat to prevent their falling over.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,359,791 of Thomas, there is shown such a frame and seat assembly. In the Thomas patent, the frame has two supporting legs within the bathtub and extends over the side of the tub with two supporting legs adapted to rest upon the floor. The chair itself is adapted to move laterally by means of rollers on the frame from a position outside of the tub to a position on the frame within the confines of the tub. Such an arrangement enables the user to seat himself outside of the tub and then move laterally to a position within the tub, where the seat or chair can be locked against movement. A single lateral support arm is provided to help provide support for the person seated in the chair, and is attached to the moving seat member. The entire assembly can be folded up and stored when not in use.
The Thomas arrangement does not have any means for fixing the frame relative to the bathtub, apparently relying only on rubber tipped feet on the external legs and plastic tipped feet on the legs within the tub. Thus, it is possible for the frame to slip or tip while the user is moving from outside the tub to inside the tub. Additionally, the chair or seat has only a single arm rest, thus, one side of the seat or chair is open, without offering any lateral support to the user. Also, although the Thomas assembly can be folded, it apparently is not portable in the sense that it can be carried by the user from place to place.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,256 of Hatala there is shown a shower bench which is aimed at overcoming some of the problems of the Thomas arrangement. The Hatala frame has a pair of legs within the bathtub, and a U-shaped pair of exterior legs which bear against the side of the tub. A clamping mechanism on the frame is adapted to bear against the internal side of the tub opposite the bent legs and can be screw tightened to clamp the frame to the bathtub. A chair or seat member is fastened to the frame within the tub and a pad forming an initial seat for the user extends outside the tub. In use, the user sits on the pad first, then slides over into the chair within the tub. Such an arrangement is more simple than that of Thomas in that the chair seat is not mounted on rollers. However, the Hatala arrangement only has one arm rest, at the interior end of the frame, hence users who have difficulty maintaining their balance do not have the protection that a second arm would provide. The externally mounted pad is spaced from the seat cushion to the extent that sliding from pad to seat can be uncomfortable or unpleasant. In addition, the Hatala arrangement is not amenable to being broken down into component parts and carried from place to place.
There are numerous other bathtub chair arrangements in the prior art, of varying degrees of complexity. Thus, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,103,509 and 5,146,638 of Richards disclose bathtub seats that can be raised and lowered by electromechanical means, while U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,523 of James and U.S. Pat. No. 3,624,666 of Higgins show seats that can be raised and lowered by mechanical means. These latter arrangements require the user, or an assistant, to operate a handle in a pumping action for driving the seat up or down. None of these arrangements is susceptible to being knocked down and transported from place to place. Of the foregoing prior art patents, only the James and Richards '638 patents show arms on each side of the chair or seat that can function to protect the user, and to help the user determine when he or she is properly seated. However, these arrangements require that the chair be pivotable so that it can be turned to the side to allow ingress to and egress from, the chair. This, in turn, can introduce other problems, such as the difficulty of moving a wheelchair into position adjacent the seat for the user to move from one to the other with a minimum of effort.
None of the prior art devices discussed is truly portable in the sense that it can be knocked down into its component parts and packed in a suitcase or other means for carrying. Thus, a user of any of such devices cannot enjoy or utilize the benefits thereof when traveling, except in those rare cases where a hotel or motel may have one of the devices available, generally at additional cost.
Most of the prior art arrangements are made of metal and require significant effort to assemble and clamp in place so that they will be rigid. Where the user himself must assemble and mount the apparatus, this presents a problem especially for someone with severe arthritis, for example, where simply applying sufficient torque to tighten bolts or adjusting members can be extremely painful.